Coming Home
by xXxeternally yoursxXx
Summary: Edward Rochester's reaction to the story of the love of his life's journey away from him, and what she had to endure.


Hey everyone! This is just a little story that I felt had to be written after reading the book and watching the 2006 mini series, which happens to be my favourite version of the film. This can however be read for any version. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Jane Eyre, or so i'm told. Perhaps one day.

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><p><strong>Coming Home<strong>

The golden glow of the firelight, unseen by his eyes, warmed us as I sat nestled in his arms. Since our reunion Edward had seemed thus far reluctant to let me go further then he could reach. Constantly reaching out to caress my face, my waist, my hands. Not that I had any particular objections, my soul was soothed by the constant touch as much as his seemed to be. The odd combination of agony and numbness that had been my hearts constant companions for the past year seemed to fade away to distant memories under his gentle, ardent touch.

Movement distracted me from my thoughts as strong arms tightened around my waist and Edward pressed his face to my shoulder. "Jane..." he stopped with a weary sigh and pulled me closer still . I curled closer seeing his reluctance, though whether it was for the question or the answer I could not tell. I took his searching hand in mine and pressed it to my cheek. "Edward what troubles you? Tell me please." He seemed to gain his usual stubborn air, resolve plain on his face. "Jane, there is a matter that has long troubled me, I need to know as much as I fear the answer. When you disappeared, into the ether as it were, I must ask as to the manner in which you made your escape. How you made it to that little school you've told me so much of."

"Edward." I sighed, "I've told you all this before."

"No." He stopped me, his hand sliding from my cheek to grip the back of my neck. "No. You have never given me all the details, I must have the details Jane." He grew ever more agitated as his voice grew in pitch and temper, his muscles tightened with remembered emotion. " For a year, an entire year Jane, I did not know whether you were alive or dead. I supposed you dead more then I could ever imagine you alive. No money, no connections, no friends to help you..." The passion in his voice dimmed to an agony, that struck at my heart and brought tears to my eyes.

feathering my fingers across his scarred face, I could not help but to kiss him. He kissed me back, hard and desperate, as though to touch my very soul and tether me to him so that I could never again disappear. "Jane I must know what you went through, what you must have suffered. He kissed me again. "Even as I hold you now, and know that you are safe, the things I dream must surely be worse then any reality you could tell me." Such was the desperation that I could hear in his voice and feel in the closeness of his arms that I could not help but to talk, to tell him anything that he wanted to hear in the hope of easing his pain. We had caused each other enough pain in the past to last for a lifetime, I would not see him suffer anymore.

"Edward, I left here by hired carriage." He cut me off with a snort.

"Left more like stole away."

"You make it sound more awful then it was sir." He crushed me to his chest, arms forming a cage around my slight frame.

"Nothing could be more awful then you disappearing from my reach, my fairy. Besides you could not have had funds enough to make the entire journey in that manner." This reproach was enforced with a lite tug on my hair as he fell silent in wait.

"That is true" I admitted with great reluctance. "I did take the carriage as far as I could afford..."

"And how much was that?" He interrupted.

"Twenty shillings" I admitted and watched as he thought this through. "It took me as far as Whitcross."

"Whitcross." He repeated. "Unless I am much mistaken, which I doubt that I am, that is no town or station."

"You are right it's not, only a crossroads exists there. I travelled from that point on foot, I slept under the stars and made my way the first village I could find. Where I was able to beg a little food from kind people who had some to spare. It was in this manner I continued on until fate brought me to the doorstep of the Rivers'." I said all this as matter of fact as I was able in the hope that he would in turn take this information with as little agitation as I portrayed. Though it appeared as though that hope would be in vain, for the despair on his face darkened with every word that left my tongue. I watched helpless as the emotions flickered across his face. The guilt, anger and self loathing. I had thought he may blame himself, something I had tried to avoid.

I sighed as he pressed his face into my shoulder. "Edward" when he didn't move I used my hands to tilt his face back up towards mine. "Edward, you can't blame yourself for events that were beyond your control." I pressed a finger to his lips as he went to protest. "No, the events of my little _adventure_," he rolled his eye at my attempt at lightening the atmosphere. "were no ones fault but my own. Edward you can not blame yourself for my choices, please Edward."

"I drove you away, I lied to you, I put you in position that led to you almost _dying_, Jane." the word came out as a sob, a sound that I knew would haunt me for the rest of my years. I never wanted to hear my name uttered in such a way again. He pressed his face back into my shoulder and I could feel the damp of his tears leaking through the fabric of my dress. "I could not bear to lose you Jane, your loss would permanently darken the world in ways I could never survive." I felt the tremor that went through his body. "The loss of my sight would be nothing to the loss of you, the two could not even compare. It was so close, if Rivers had not found you, had not taken pity on you..." He tailed off, but I could sense as the despair turned to rage. "If my own stupidity had, had..."

"Edward stop this I beg you, don't dwell on the past, on things that cannot be changed. We both have painful things in are pasts. Decisions we wish to unmake and actions we wish to undo." I ran my fingers gently down the scarred side of his face. ''However without them we wouldn't be who we are now, we would not be where we are now." I kissed him softly, chastely to emphasis my point. "And that my love would be fate I could not endure." Pulling my face to his, he kissed me deeply, passionately. Reassuring both himself and me that we were here together. I could sense the promise in that kiss, that he would never allow anything to happen to me again, that I would never want for anything again. I knew that this would not be the last time we had this particular conversation, but in that moment I couldn't bring myself to care, for the first time in over a year I felt as though I was home.

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><p>Thank you for reading. I would love to know what you thought, so please leave a review. In the mean time I remain, eternally yours. xox<p> 


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